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2010-08-16: You'll Never Guess Who I Saw Yesterday
Summary: Oracle talks to Batman about who she saw in the coffeeshop. A follow-up to 2010-08-15: Running in to Old (Dead) Friends Location: Via commlinks, then the Clocktower Participants: Oracle and Batman Rating: PG "Batman?" comes Oracle's voice over the comm links. "There's something I need to talk to you about. Something... I'm not even sure how to start with this. It's..." her voice goes quiet for several long moments. "It's about Jason." That last bit gets an equally long bit of silence. "Okay, getting Batgirl and Robin to take care of this weapons bust, there as quick as I can be," he says, before cutting communications. He sounds...sterner than usual. A few moment later, the Batman flies in the upper levels of the clocktower, entering any windows left open for him. "Oracle, I know you're victim to occasional gallows humor," he says as he pads his way over towards you, "But if you're thinking this is cute, I assure that I'm not amused. Not at all." He gives her an even stare to let her know just how serious he is about that, before continuing. "What do you have?" "Do you honestly think I would-" she starts, wheeling away from her computer and twards her, looking offended, but quickly calms herself. At least on the surface. The incident earlier has her on edge, and it's not like she's a stranger to telling Bruce off when he's over the line... but now is not the time for that, she reminds herself. "I think someone is impersonating him. Someone who knows... just a bit too much," she starts. She gives him a quick run down of what happened at the coffee shop, though leaves out the part about Starfire. The note, she already has scanned into her system, and the handwriting analysis has been done. She brings up said image on her screen. "Whoever it was knew how to forge your hand writing fairly well. Security footage from the coffee shop isn't much help. He kept his face hidden from the camera." Batman remains silent through-out the conversation, occasionally squinting his eyes at the more disturbing parts. "Hmmm," he says as she mentions the handwriting, nodding his head. "Lets get one thing straight: this isn't Jason. Jason died, I watched it, so any other theories you have that don't include Jason being dead, throw them out right now," he instructs, sounding rather firm on this. "I guess the worry is who would know your secrets...and what the means for the rest of us." Of course, by 'the rest of us' he mostly means himself. "I'm guessing you didn't trail the man, see where he went?" The question isn't really an inquiry, but a judgment, a criticism. Oracle looks down at her legs, then back at Batman. "Trailing isn't exactly in my repetoire anymore, Bruce. Stairs make it a little harder than it used to be." She turns away, and goes back to her work station. "I've already checked the paper for finerprints and other trace evidence, but since I know you'll want to run your own check that will turn up the exact same results..." she grabs the note, which she has sealed in an evidence-style bag. The note is snatched away, examining the actual notation and eyeing the handwriting for himself. "I'm assuming you didn't find anything?" he asks, not a hint of apology in his voice. It would be easy to think he's just distracted, but this is actually not all that unusual. "Also might want to research traffic footage, see if you see anyone in the same general area over the last few days that fits the description. If not with the same red hoodie, maybe similar...body language." He frowns, mind-racing slightly. "Did you get any sense he was there to be seen? That he was trying to get your attention? Or was it a coincidence?" Without speaking, Barbara makes a few mouse-clicks and hits a few commands, which bring up displays of several screens, the programs on each indicate that those searches are already being run. She's also used an artifically aged image of Jason, who looks fairly close to the one she saw, and is using face recognition software to search through security feeds just about everywhere in the city, assuming whoever this is using his face has made appearances elsewhere. "If he wanted to be seen, he did a damn good job of pretending he didn't want to be. But he clearly wanted me to know he knew who I was." Batman watches as Oracle starts to do her thing, impressed even if he would never say so. "Hmmm," he says again, easily the most popular word in his side of this conversation. "That...seems odd. He didn't want you to realize who he was fully, but he couldn't help himself. It was like he wanted you to know that he knew you...taunting," he murmers, frowning deeply. "Keep running that check. If we can get an idea where he is, we might be able to at the very least look at his home. But if he thinks he's been made, he might move on soon." It's almost like she'd trained under him and had a vast amount of experience herself or something. Funny, that. "Whoever this is, he's using Jason's face. And his voice. I'm going to find him, Bruce." She frowns. "You think the Joker could have something to do with this? He'd know Jason, and he knows me as the Comissionor's daughter. Would he have the means to... I don't know, make some lackey look like him?" "If so..." Batman starts, before shaking his head. "No, he hasn't crossed the line. He's done that long ago...multiple times." Now its his turn to glance towards Barbara's legs, only for a half second before looking to the screen. "Maybe expand the search, add some of the Joker's former henchmen mugshots that aren't currently being held at Blackgate or Arkham. Doubt anything will pop up, Joker prefers to shoot his assistants once they've serve their purpose, but it might turn something up." He's reaching now, to be sure, and definitely staring at that photo of older Jason. "You said he looked pretty close to that?" he says, nodding towards the computerized aging. Oracle nods. "Like he'd look today if he were still alive," she confirms. "It was... uncanny, really," and for a moment, some of the emotion she'd felt when she first saw him bubbles to the surface, past her "mask," so to speak. It takes her a few moment to compose herself again. Partially because he has dived deeply behind his mask, and partially because he wasn't there to see it in person, just a picture, he doesn't look or seem as upset. He does, however, bring a hand down to Barbara's shoulder, squeezing softly. "We're going to figure this out," he says, his gruff voice as comforting, as close to 'Bruce' as he gets while still in the costume. "We're going to nail this guy, and make him sorry he tried to mess with us, whoever he really is. I promise." Barbara puts her hand over Batman's, for just a moment, but quickly composes herself, and wheels back to her workstation. "You're damn right we're going to nail him," she agrees, adding a few more traffic cameras, ATM cameras and security feeds to her search. She's got That Look on her face. Bad news for whoever's impersonating a dead friend. With Oracle properly motivated, he isn't much more good here. "Let me know if you get any kind of hit," Batman says as he turns and starts to make his way slowly towards the window again. "I can put the troops on reconassaince as well, watch the neighborhood you saw him in and see if we see a similar sloucher." He stops at the window, his back to Oracle as he cracks a wry smile. "I actually think Cassandra would quite like that, right up her alley." "You'll be the first to know when I find something." Notably, it's not an "if." She's /going/ to find something. Success is the only option, even if she has to go without sleep for a couple days and live on energy drinks. Nice to see she's still got that self-destructively obsessive Bat instincts still, chair or no chair. "Look forward to it," he says with a slight nod. He pauses, and adds, "Good work," before hopping out of the window, ziplining his way back towards danger and maniacs. He'll be distracted for the rest of the night, expectantly waiting news, but his city needs him as always. Category:Logs